


The Last Goodbye

by binkty



Series: Crane's Sacrifice [2]
Category: Sleepy Hollow (TV)
Genre: Bittersweet Ending, F/M, First Time/Last Time, Goodbyes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-18
Updated: 2020-05-18
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:27:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,812
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24248794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/binkty/pseuds/binkty
Summary: A slow smile found its way to Abbie's face. "We've been given time for one last goodbye and you wanted to spend it drinking beers and playing chess?"A continuation to my fic Live where Crane died giving himself to Pandora's box before Abbie could.
Relationships: Ichabod Crane/Abbie Mills
Series: Crane's Sacrifice [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1697764
Comments: 9
Kudos: 26





	The Last Goodbye

Abbie sat on the cool tiled floor of the bathroom, just waiting. The box said she would only have to wait for a minute but each second felt like it was taking an hour to pass. She was almost certain she knew exactly what she was going to see once that minute was up but it was so improbable – impossible really – that until she had the proof in her hands, she couldn't let herself believe it. 

She thought back to the event the lead to this moment as the time slowly passed.

_True to her word, Pandora's box had been instrumental in the defeat of the Hidden One but Pandora herself had not been so easily vanquished and with her demise came the destruction once more of her box and this time not even the tinniest piece of the box remained. It was just gone, completely obliterated, taking with it any hope Abbie had of having Ichabod returned to her._

_With heavy hearts, she and her sister had lumbered home to mourn the loss of their loves, for Joe had been taken from them too, eventually succumbing to sleep, huddled together on Abbie's bed, after crying every last tear their exhausted bodies had to give. They had been sleeping for no more than an hour when Abbie abruptly startled awake. She looked to Jenny but found her slumbering on. She watched her sleep for a moment and reached out to smooth a hand back over her head. Jenny's face softened at the action and she breathed a gentle sigh. Abbie gave a sad smile. The pain would not be so easily comforted in her waking hours._

_A sudden urge compelling her downstairs had Abbie slipping from the bed as carefully as she could to not disturb Jenny. She padded to the door, taking one last glance to ensure Jenny still slept soundly, and then made her exit, pulling the door all but shut behind her._

_All of her senses were on high alert as she made her way down the stairs. The lights down here were on and she distinctly remembered turning them off. She itched to have a weapon but as it would turn out, she didn't need one._

_As she stepped off the last stair, Ichabod Crane came rounding into her field of view. He had two beers in hand and was heading for the dining room but he stopped abruptly short when he spotted her._

_"Lieutenant," he said, a grin spreading across his face. "There you are."_

_Abbie couldn't believe what she was seeing and stood there, stunned. She'd had visions of the dead before but somehow this seemed different. She couldn't make herself move, even as Ichabod held out one of the bottles for her to take. How could this be possible?_

_"Is this a dream?" she finally found her voice to ask._

_"That is a difficult question to answer," he replied, dropping his arm as she'd still made no move to take the offered bottle. "I think yes and no."_

_"I don't understand." She watched him walk over to the dining room table where he deposited the two beers next to the chess board he must have set up while she was still upstairs before returning to his previous position in front of her._

_"This is not your imagination," he explained. "I am not some figment conjured by your unconscious mind but indeed the genuine article here before you. Insofar as that, this is not a dream. But, though my soul was released when the box was destroyed, my corporeal form was forfeit the moment it was absorbed by the box. So in order for me to be able to do this," and here he took up her hand in his, threading their fingers together, "it necessitated some kind of intervention. I don't know whether there has been a temporary lifting of the veil or if we've been granted fleeting access to some kind of dream realm. I only know that we've been allowed time for a final goodbye."_

_A slow smile found its way to Abbie's face. "We've been given time for one last goodbye and you wanted to spend it drinking beers and playing chess?"_

_Ichabod opened his mouth to reply but nothing came out. He looked down and then peeked back up at her again. "I did not want to presume."_

_"Crane." She shook her head and chuckled fondly. Placing a hand on his bearded cheek, she guided his mouth down to hers for a soft kiss. "How much time do we have?"_

_"I do not know."_

_"Then we shouldn't waste it."_

_Using their joined hands, she led him down the hall toward what had been his bedroom._

_"I wish I had the time to demonstrate my love for you properly," Ichabod said, gazing down at her as they stood before his bed. "You deserve so much more than this."_

_"This is more than I thought we'd ever get, Crane," Abbie returned, her voice gone soft and raspy from barely contained emotion. "So that makes it perfect." She smiled up at him for a moment, letting her love for him shine through her eyes, and then patted his chest. "Now no more thinking about the things we'll never be able to do because that's just going to make me cry and I don't want to waste any of the time we have left crying," she ordered with a sad little chuckle. "I'll have more than enough time for that later."_

_"Abbie," Ichabod breathed, cradling her face in his hand, his face the picture of sorrow and regret._

_She shook her head. "Ichabod, please." The words wavered as she spoke them, coming out barely above a whisper, and her eyes shone with the unshed tears she was fighting to hold back. "I don't want to be sad right now."_

_He nodded and from that moment on, did his very best to ensure feelings of sadness would remain the furthest things from their minds._

_His lips descended on hers in a passionate kiss. Abbie wrapped her arm around his neck, making it so their mouths never parted as she lowered herself to the mattress and tugged him along so he had to crawl over her as she shifted back toward middle of the bed. She pulled at his shirt, freeing it from his trousers, and Ichabod drew back so he could throw it off. From there it was a frantic combined effort to remove each other's clothing as fast as they could._

_Finally, both bare, Ichabod settled himself down into the cradle of her thighs and then their earlier frenzy seemed to momentarily subside. They gazed at one another, letting their eyes say everything._

_Abbie studied his face in the soft glow of the moonlight coming in from the window, tracing all its lines and angles with the tips of her fingers, desperate to commit it all to memory. She found it a strange thing that your heart could be so full yet breaking all at once. To be so euphoric to be here in this moment with him but at the same time miserable knowing this moment would be all they have. The negative side of her thoughts must have shown on her face because Ichabod caught one of her surveying hands in his and brought it to his mouth to kiss her palm._

_"No sad thoughts, Lieutenant, remember?" he said softly._

_"I remember," she smiled but the deep-seated heartache inside her would not stay hidden, seeping through and tinting the adoration shining in her eyes._

_Ichabod searched her face, bringing his hand up to gently cup her cheek. "Abbie, if this is too difficult for you… The last thing I wish to do is cause you more pain."_

_Abbie shook off his concern. "I want this, Crane. I need it."_

_He nodded, mouth quirking ever so gently. "What kind of man would I be if I let your needs go unmet?" he teased. He leaned down to kiss her smiling lips, brow coming to rest upon hers when he pulled back again. "I love you, Abbie."_

_"Show me, Crane," she whispered urgently. "I need you to show me."_

_His mouth claimed hers again and then he was slowly pushing inside her and Abbie was moaning into his kiss._

_She gave herself over to sensation, letting her mind go blank to everything but the way he was making her feel. And the way he was making her feel was amazing. His strokes were even better than she ever imagined they could be, steady and deliberate and absolutely perfect. She wrapped her arms around him, hugging him as closely as she could as he moaned and huffed out endearments against the side of her neck._

_"Oh God," she panted. She could feel the pleasure ramping up inside her. "I love you, Crane. So much."_

_Her words were met with another ardent kiss and his next thrust had her keening against his mouth as he swivelled his hips in a way that set her toes to curling. She tore her mouth away, breath catching in a silent scream as the world fell away to the starburst behind her closed eyelids._

_Ichabod groaned above her. "Abbie," he ground out, his rhythm faltering, "My love." His hips snapped forward and she distantly felt him pulse inside her as he met his own release._

_They'd lain together spoon fashioned in the afterglow, whispering of love and adoration until Abbie was once more reclaimed by sleep._

The timer went off to signal the minute was up. Abbie reached for the object resting on the edge of the bathtub with shaky hands and took a deep breath to steel herself before glancing down at it. 

Two blue lines. 

Pregnant. She was pregnant. Her hand clapped over her mouth, joy and sorrow swirling around inside her. Joy because the universe was allowing her to have a little piece of the man she loved. Sorrow because this would be yet another child Ichabod Crane would never know. 

A sob choked out of her at that and she once again grieved for the life they'd lost. 

But while Ichabod would never get to know their child, their child would know him. Abbie would make sure of it. They would know their father's love, his courage, his sacrifice. He would live on for them through the stories she would tell. 

She smiled at the thought, letting joy take over as she wiped the last of her tears from her eyes. She placed a hand low on her abdomen and looked down at her still flat stomach. A new life was growing inside her. A life created against insurmountable odds in testament to the love she and Ichabod shared.

It was a gift Abbie never expected to get. And one for which she would be forever grateful.

**Author's Note:**

> I was rereading Live the other day and my brain decided it wanted one of those children Crane spoke of Abbie having to be an Ichababy. So here we are. Sorry for killing Crane again, lol


End file.
